The number of women sent to jail has reached a 15-year high, according to new figures released yesterday. Some 3,100 were imprisoned, 7 per cent of all women convicted of indictable offences last year.

The total number of people sentenced to custody increased markedly in 1994, the Home Office figures showed. Some 68,500 offenders were sentenced to immediate custody, an increase of 10,000 or 17 per cent over the previous year's 58,400.

The National Association for the care and Resettlement of Offenders, described the statistics on women as "disturbing".